5yo refuses to poop because of smell

[Misias]

Hello! My 5yo girl does wee absolutely fine in the toilet, however with poo it has been a nightmare since potty training. She holds until the limit; gets naked and covers herself all over, including nose, because of the smell! When she goes she is happy and stays like that for 2-3 days and then her mood changes and atitudes are more abrupt and aggressive. Her behaviour changes completely for worse…

Honestly, we tried everything but we as a family are reaching the boiling point 😞

She is not constipated. Laxatives don’t seem to be the option as I think the problem might be a trauma or phobia?!

Not sure what to do or where to go. Wonder if there are more cases like my girl?

[Lambtrack]

We had a similar issue with my daughter, now 5 and a half. She didn’t seem to be concerned by the smell but she did seem to have a phobia of doing a poo, and as you say with your daughter, her behaviour would be completely off on certain days until she did a poo and then she’d be back to normal. This went on for about a year and I was utterly convinced she wasn’t constipated because she pooing regularly. However, in the end we attended an ERIC online webinar and based on what they said we realised that trying some movicol and doing a disimpaction process might in fact be the answer. And it was! It only took one long weekend Fri-Tues and she’s been on a very low dose ever since; it just means she can’t withhold for any reason, and I think it’s successfully removed the stigma/trauma/fear of doing a poo for her. She’s even been able to poo in school which was a big first for her! Maybe worth speaking to ERIC helpline or your local Children’s bladder and bowel service if you have one? Sadly the GPs are sufficiently well trained yet in childrens’ continence and so we did received some misleading advice which delayed the whole process by and caused it to drag on for a year or more. Hope this helps. X

[Misias in reply to Lambtrack]

Thanks for your advice! I’ll give it a try with laxatives and see if it unblocks the phobia!! And fingers crossed I won’t need to go any further.

Glad that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel! Xx